director

press release

We are living in a new era, which is changing our lives fundamentally: will we surrender to this Digital Modernity with no ifs, ands, or buts, or will we make use of the magnificent possibilities of digital technologies to keep developing as human beings? Human superspecialization seems obsolete as intelligent machines are becoming increasingly better at it. We now have the chance to rediscover ourselves as human beings and to use our most valuable qualities to shape the future. This will not happen automatically, we will need to change our lives. Which values will we need for a (digital) future we really want? A future in which the utopia of social and economic justice and ecological sustainability can become reality?

“We dared to approach a sensitive topic with our search for new values for a digital world. The result is a Vienna Biennale For Change 2019 inspiring in manifold ways with reflexive and provoking but also feasible approaches. Within the artistic realm of the Biennale, an eco-social Digital Modernity begins to take shape,” Christoph Thun-Hohenstein, General Director of the MAK as well as initiator and head of the VIENNA BIENNALE states.

Artists, designers, and architects from all continents will take a stance towards the future we really want. With nine exhibitions, one comprehensive conference, and numerous projects and events the Vienna Biennale For Change 2019: BRAVE NEW VIRTUES. Shaping Our Digital World will focus on brave visions on handling artificial intelligence and new technologies, on shaping innovative lifestyles, (urban) working models, and on responsible consumption.

The Vienna Biennale is organized by MAK – Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna, University of Applied Arts Vienna, Kunsthalle Wien, Architekturzentrum Wien, Vienna Business Agency, Slovak Design Center as associate partner, and AIT Austrian Institute of Technology as research partner.